


I know your dress is karma

by No_Shining_Stars, Trapano (No_Shining_Stars)



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Blowjobs, Friends With Benefits, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, Kuma and Akechi are friends with benefits, M/M, One Night Stands, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Photography, Ren is an idiot here, as in they fuck sometimes in this fanfic, one night stands to lovers?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:27:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No_Shining_Stars/pseuds/No_Shining_Stars, https://archiveofourown.org/users/No_Shining_Stars/pseuds/Trapano
Summary: Photography student Ren Amamiya sees the poster boy of the student council, Goro Akechi, in a very compromising position with another person. Instead of spreading rumors, he decides that he wants a piece of that cake for himself.A lot of things don't go as planned once he gets what he wants.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 53





	1. 1.

**Author's Note:**

> Just enjoy! ^^  
> And let me know what you think about it ;^;

Ren snapped another picture, the subject looking a little bit better in that angle, he shifted a little bit more to the left, the light hitting a particular nice tone like that. He smirked, he got the shot he needed. Ann looked at him, a curious expression on her features, probably wondering why he was smiling, considering how he had a focused expression once he took photos.  
“I’m done, thank you, Ann,” he said, checking some other few shots he took that same evening, hunched over his own camera.  
Ann looked surprised “Oh! That was fast” she stretched, Ren could hear one of her bones popping, she sighed, relieved. They had been working for just two or three hours, but it always felt like more time nonetheless, especially if it was for school.  
“Yes, I told you it was going to be fast” He looked around them, the sun was already going down outside of the university common studio.  
“No kidding, that was fast for what I’m used to, but I can’t say I’m not happy we ended this early” she started checking her phone, probably messaging Shiho that she was done.  
Ren started putting everything in order, and most of the equipment was in its place when Ann was done changing.  
“Can I look at the shots?” she asked, moving to his computer.  
“Yeah, suit yourself,” he said delicately putting some lenses on their own cases. Ann, muttered contently, clearly satisfied with how the photos came out “I always wonder how can you make it look so easy, these shots are great by the way!”  
“Thank you” Ren smiled, getting up from his crouched position, stretching his back. “And thank you for helping me on my project, I hope it won’t give you problems with your agency”  
“As long as you don’t sell these, everything’s peachy, you know that” Ann giggled "And it helps me too, so no time was lost" she added  
“Shall we go?” he asked after a few seconds of silence, Ann nodded in agreement, already going for her bag. She waited patiently for him to finish to pack his things, and they both got out, walking beside each other. “I’m happy to see that you are working as hard as you can”  
“Well… That has to do more to the fact that our current professor is kind of an asshole” She laughed, it probably seemed like he was joking but their current professor was super strict, and Ren couldn't afford to let his grades drop, he also seemed to have particular regards towards the students that have been living in Tokyo since childhood, and Ren, was not one of them.

He was thankful to Ann for helping him when he moved, everything was new and she just took him under her wing even though they both were juniors, and they had become friends shortly after that. The girl sighed “I wish I could say that about my own studies...” Ren looked at her, smiling sympathetically. She chose to follow foreign languages, absolutely convinced that it would have worked great, but clearly, things weren’t going as smooth as she expected. ("I'm sure Russian it's not as hard as people say!") He wished he could help her, but the only language he was good at was English, and he was ok at best. Ann also didn't need help on that, she knew English better than him so...

They sat down on one of the benches inside the campus, regaining some energies for a few seconds.  
“I’m going to get something from the vending machines, do you need something?” she asked getting up gingerly, Ren shook his head, eyes focused on how the colors were slowly shifting in the sky, his hands itched to get a photo.  
Once Ann walked away, he took out his camera, it wasn’t a very flattering angle, nor a professional shot, to be honest, but he just wanted to get a picture of the sun setting. Through the viewfinder he could see both the sky and the university grounds, some other students were moving out of the university study halls, he just took the picture, and not thinking much of it moved the lens somewhere else.  
He wasn’t a very nosey person by nature, but he could color himself curious sometimes, and he was just fooling around with his camera, expecting to have nothing to work with, many of the windows were shadowed or covered by curtains anyways, people were leaving already, so there wasn't much.

Some of them were uncovered thought, he could see… a professor tapping idly on his computer by the first floor, an art student drawing near the windows by the fourth floor, a girl dancing to a silly song on her headphones near the corridors on the first floor, two students kissing by… Ren batted his eyes, surprised, it wasn’t exactly the timid kind of kissing either, it was the kind of kiss that would lead to something else. He didn't mean to snoop on them, but before he could stop looking, his brain provided names to the faces. The blonde boy was Kuma Hanamura, he was pretty popular considering his good looks, Ren knew him by chance since he attended some of Ann's classes… It was kind of a mystery what he studied, the guy seemed to be studying everywhere and nowhere…

The other person was… Ren’s eyebrows raised in disbelief, huh, Goro Akechi, the golden boy of the Law faculty, the boy everyone looked up to for being hard-working and sincere, the boy every girl he knew swooned over. Well, that was a surprise.

Kuma moved to kiss his neck and Akechi tilted his head to let him some space, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, cheeks tinted in a very shy shade of pink. He couldn’t really stop himself to snap a picture, even though he really didn’t know why he did that, it was wrong on so many levels yet Ren felt a bit hypnotized by what he was seeing.  
“Taking pictures of the sky?” Ren screamed a little, jumping at Ann’s voice, thankfully he had a pretty strong grip on his camera.  
Ren coughed “Yeah…” he said slightly breathy, it was pretty embarrassing already that he screamed, he really didn’t want her to find out what he was exactly taking photos of. Ann looked at him curiously “Why is your face red?”  
“It’s nothing” he stood up, putting his camera inside its case, trying to calm down.  
Ann giggled “That’s new, I’ve never seen you this red. You’re always this cool and casual person, it’s refreshing” besides that she said nothing else, drinking from the water bottle she bought, looking at him like she wanted to know more.  
Ren could consider himself calm, he had no qualms in saying what he thought, one could bet that he was capable of keeping his head cool in an argument as much as when he was flirting with someone, it didn’t really make any difference to him. Almost nothing surprised him, he could go with the flow and people could consider him a natural at whatever he did… So why he got so much surprised by seeing Akechi kissing another dude, it really went beyond his understanding.  
He looked back once, not really being able to see much without the zoom of his camera.

***

“And then she said that it wasn’t going to work, man!” Ryuji downed another shot, hitting the table with a fist. Ren drank calmly, listening carefully.  
“... Sorry to hear that” he muttered, patting his back, not really meaning it  
“Plenty of fish in the ocean,” Said Mishima cheerfully, already pretty tipsy  
“I have to agree, I’m sure you will find a new partner soon” Yusuke drank from his non-alcoholic drink with a straw.  
Ryuji tsked “Fuck you guys, you’re not one bit sympathetic here!”  
Ren, Mishima, and Yusuke looked at each other “Well…” started Ren, thinking of a way to say things delicately.  
“She was an absolute bitch, man!” interrupted Mishima. Yusuke and Ren looked at him in a way that made him understand that that really wasn’t a way to say things. “What? I’m not wrong! She treated him like shit!” Not wrong, she was kind of devilish.  
Ryuji looked more defeated by the second, Ren coughed “What Mishima means-”  
“I know what he means, he’s right…” Ryuji’s eyes were fixed on the small shot he held in his hand “I just hoped…” he sighed. Ren felt really sad that he couldn’t do much about it, except offer his shoulder for him to cry on.  
“Fuck this” he continued, sneering “I’m gonna get drunk and forget about her!” Ryuji’s resolution was an absolute beauty to watch, but he was sure it would wither away in a few hours, when he would be wasted and full of tears for a girl that didn’t love him.

At the word one night stand his brain flashed Akechi making out with Kuma again, he really never thought he would see them in such a situation.  
Akechi seemed like the type of guy that would like to be in a long-term relationship, well… At least that's what he thought considering his public face, clearly there was something beneath the surface that no one knew about. Or maybe he was in a long term relationship with Kuma, huh… He couldn't know anyways, since he and Akechi had never actually spoken to each other, Goro was part of the Student council, and since Makoto was there too, Ren would usually end up helping her somehow, that’s where he had seen Akechi the most. But they never engaged in a conversation, mostly because all of them were discussing pretty important matters.  
Akechi also seemed like the type of person to have a stick up his ass 24/7, so he never bothered either. Not like he was interested in talking to him.  
He sipped from his own drink, pensive, wondering why did he even care now of all times, and why did he take that photo…

"Yo, man, I'm gonna go order some other drinks, you want something?" Ryuji's hand landed on his shoulder. "I guess another one of these" he said, pointing at his own drink  
"Aight" Ryuji moved slowly towards the bar  
"When are the girls coming again?" Mishima asked, looking around them  
"I never said they would be coming" answered Ren, no particular expression on his face, but he still looked around.

He got surprised for a second time that evening, it was probably a coincidence that exactly the two people he was thinking about entered the building, surrounded by a small group of people Ren recognized too.  
Akechi was talking to senior law student Naoto Shirogane, they seemed to be in a really passionate debate about… something, he couldn't hear what they were saying from where he was seated…  
Kuma was talking to Yu Narukami. Narukami was a very weird addition to the group, considering he was studying to become an elementary teacher, or so he heard… Not very ambitious, but a very centered choice between the two law students and… whatever it was that Kuma was studying.

"Earth to Reeeen!" Mishima moved a hand in front of his face, he blinked, he got caught staring, damn.  
"What is it, Mishima?" He answered, moving his eyes away from the group  
"I asked you if we will go out tomorrow?" Mishima props his head onto the table, unfocused eyes on him, he clearly was already drunk.  
"I have a project to finish, sorry" he downed the rest of his drink, he needed to forget about what he saw earlier, especially now that he was sharing the room with them… It was hard, considering that every time he closed his eyes he could clearly see Akechi tilting his head and having that expression, and blushing so prettily… He shook his head trying to focus, but his eyes kept moving towards the other man, sitting and talking on the other side of the room.

He was laughing at something, not really paying attention to his surroundings.

"Here" Ryuji came back with another round of drinks. Yusuke was very quiet, checking every once in a while his phone, Ren didn't want to pry, he could ask later if he really wanted to know… but knowing him, he was just talking to Futaba.  
Beside him Ryuji downed another shot, so Ren took it as a cue to start drinking on his own cocktail.  
"You have very weird tastes, man," said Ryuji in disgust, after a while.  
"I was just curious, never heard of chicken broth in a cocktail… To be honest it's not that bad…" it mostly tasted like a weird alcoholic broth, but it had a refreshing and very sweet aftertaste to it but he couldn't blame Ryuji for looking at it funny.

His eyes drifted again, Akechi was checking his phone, not participating in the conversation, visibly bored.  
He probably felt like he was being stared at, because their eyes met when he locked his phone and put it in his pocket.  
It was a second, Ren immediately moved his stare elsewhere, a little bit embarrassed that he got caught. He couldn't really bring himself to see what expression Akechi was doing, but he felt like this time around he was the one being watched.  
Now he felt ridiculous that he was drinking chicken broth in a glass…  
“Ugh, Akechi is here” groaned Ryuji, Ren looked at his friend “You know him?”  
He did a grimace “Asshole has a stick up his ass, looks at everyone like he is better than anyone and all the girls love him” that was Akechi all right.  
“What’s your problem with him? He seems polite enough” Yusuke was done with his drink, giving them his full attention  
“I just don’t like him”  
“Ah, so it’s envy”  
“Shut up! I’m not jealous of that pompous fuck!”  
“He has better grades, better looks, and a better personality, I guess it’s fair to say that you are jealous” Mishima grinned, patting his head “It’s ok Ryuji! We all are! I’m sure even Ren is a little bit envious of him!” Ryuji slapped his hand away, growling a ‘fuck off’, not bothering to deny it anymore.

Ren really wasn’t, he was more curious than anything at that moment, but said nothing.

“I must say, I asked him once if I could use him as muse” Ren listened, interested.  
“He was flattered but refused, he directed me to his friend, Kuma-san.” Ryuji sneered, not surprised at all  
“I’m not completely angry about it, they are both aesthetically pleasing to the eye in different ways, and Hanamura-san was a very particular person to talk to, too”  
If Akechi refused to be painted, he probably hated photos too.  
It’s not like he’d look bad in them either.

The night proceeded pretty normally after that, and as predicted, Ryuji ended crying in the toilet, almost throwing up from how much he was drunk, propped against Ren’s shoulder, sobbing about a girl that only used him. He really didn’t deserve that, but such was life. Ren tried his best to comfort him while himself being drunk too.

Ren was pretty sure a heartbreak wasn’t going to be a big thing to get over, he had his fair share of them too, but he never gave the pain too much attention.  
Walking back to the dormitories, Ryuji was more wasted than anything, but unlike Mishima, that was being piggybacked by Yusuke, he still was conscious, singing some kind of song about L.A. girls in a horrible English accent. When he got to Ryuji's room, he dropped his friend on the bed and went to move to his run-down couch and pass out on it, still dressed.

***

“Ah, sorry,” Ren said, getting on his knees to get the scattered papers and books that fell from his and the other person’s hand. “My bad, I wasn’t looking” he lied. He was very much aware of who he was going to collide against. Was it a desperate move? Probably, but it wasn’t like anyone else knew, so…  
“It’s ok, I was distracted too” Akechi’s gloved hands moved hurriedly, getting most of his stuff.  
He didn’t really have a plan after the collision, but luckily for him, he didn’t have to talk much “You’re Makoto’s friend, right? I have seen you in the student council room sometimes” Akechi seemed friendlier than usual, they got up with their stuff on their arms.  
“Ah, you must be… Akechi-san, right?” he feigned ignorance, something that made the other boy’s expression shift from slight annoyance to understanding. Maybe he didn’t buy it, but Goro said nothing about it.  
“Yeah, that’s me, you’re… Kurusu-kun…?” ah, that’s what they were playing  
“Actually it's Amamiya, but I get it, someone in your position can’t remember names that easily” Akechi face was showing nothing, aside from the usual smile, maybe he ought to be a little bit harsher Ren played with his fringe, considering if he should do it.  
“Indeed, sadly I get to see so many faces all week, it gets overwhelming sometimes… And not everyone sticks”  
“I can imagine, aren’t you also older than me? It can get tough with the age, or so I heard” that’s probably the most he has ever talked with a stranger, and in such an antagonistic way too.

Akechi was still smiling, but there was an edge just on the corner of his lips, like he was going to snap or like he was going to punch him, either way Ren just muttered a “It was nice meeting you Akechi, let’s talk more”

He didn’t look back, it wasn’t necessary this time around.

Ann was waiting for him by the door just around the corner, tapping on her cellphone, as usual. “I’m here, sorry” Ren stopped, just by bickering with Akechi he had a rush of adrenaline, he felt very much energized at that moment.  
Ann seemed to notice too “You look pumped up, did something happen?” they started moving  
“No, just excited”  
“Mh… Fine don’t tell me, I’ll find out eventually” Ren laughed at Ann’s suspicious expression, She knew him pretty well, maybe not that much to understand when he lied or not, but she could notice his change of moods if there were any.  
“How did yesterday go?” She was changing subjects, weird coming from her, but not uncommon.  
“Ryuji got drunk, cried his eyes off on the public toilet, threw up in his bathroom this morning.” Ann laughed at that “Mishima got drunk too, Yusuke had to piggyback him back to his room”  
“I’m sorry about what happened to Ryuji and his girlfriend, but that girl was so unpleasant to be around! I cannot believe he actually fell for her!” Ren had to agree to a certain extent, Ryuji wasn’t a kid anymore, and he probably had his reasons, it's not like one can decide who to fall for.  
“You shouldn’t talk behind his back like this” Ann snorted  
“That idiot knows what I think, I already told him countless times, even when he was with her” Ren could see she was worried about him too, she and Ryuji were friends before they met, he noticed even before they told him. Apparently, they went to the same high school, a shitty one too, from what Ryuji said, not because it was run-down or old, or in the bad part of the city, but because some teachers were real assholes there or something like that. Ann always insisted in being vague, somehow she didn’t like talking much about it, and Ryuji had this guilt-ridden expression every time she dismissed it.

“Thank god you are not like him, falling for complete assholes, I would tear my hair off if I had to deal with the both of you being heartbroken” Ren knew Ann was joking, she would totally help both of them, she was not cold-hearted.  
“Now that I think about it, you never seem to be in a stable relationship”  
“Is that a problem?”  
“Oh no! Not at all! I was just wondering”  
“I’m not really into relationships, they bore me to death” He probably would change his mind in the future, but as things were in that moment, he just didn’t feel like being in a long term relationship was the right choice. They were still young anyways.

“Mh… I guess it can get boring…” She dropped the conversation after that, maybe she just didn’t agree with him.

***

“Ah, Kurusu-kun, it’s nice to see you again” Akechi’s voice startled him, he sure wasn’t expecting to see him in Inorashika park out of all places, but he recovered fast from his surprise.  
“I already told you, it’s Amamiya” Ren moved his camera from his face, still holding it carefully, though. He was there to take some panoramic shots, sometimes he felt like doing them and it was a nice day.  
“Is that so? Sorry then” he wasn’t sorry at all, Ren could tell. “How come you are here?” he asked after a while of them looking at each other.  
“I was just walking, it’s such a nice day, so I felt like relaxing a little” Akechi answered.  
Ren sneered “Ah I see, you were stretching your old, old legs, understood” Apparently Akechi hated being teased like that, he saw the same edge on his lips like last time.  
“Your originality on what to joke about it’s quite boring, to be honest” Akechi brushed it away like it was an annoying fly  
“Mh… I mean, as long as you insist in calling me with a name that it’s not mine, I will blame it on your memory”  
“Memory loss by old age and just not remembering one’s name because of other factors are two different things” Akechi moved by his side  
“Hate being called an old man?” Ren turned around at that, going back at taking photos of the small lake, a couple was floating on a boat, they probably were on a romantic date.

“You are just one year my junior, and besides, that I’m not that old” Ren snapped another shot. “You dress like my grandpa, so I thought you had his lack of memory too since it’s the second time you fail to remember my name”  
At Akechi’s silence, Ren checked if he was still there. Indeed he was, and he was looking directly at him “Do you hate being called the wrong name perhaps?”  
“Despise it” he lied, he really didn’t mind. Once a girl kept calling him Megane-kun while they were having sex, it irked him a little bit, but whatever, they were both drunk.  
“Mh… I see. Well, I have to go now, as expected talking to you brought a new perspective” What about, Ren wondered, they just bickered about names and age. He probably believed him when he said that he didn’t like being called with another name.  
Whatever, so be it.  
“You’re welcome…”  
“Goodbye Kuru- ah, I mean, Amamiya-kun” Akechi waved then walked away, not waiting for the other boy's answer.  
“Hate to see you go, but love seeing you walk away…” Ren muttered, his eyes casually landing on how Akechi’s ass moved. He wondered if he should take a picture of that, his head tilting to the side.  
Maybe not, he already had a very compromising one of him, he didn’t need two.


	2. 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi's pov this time around, and some Akechi/Kuma dirty times because I have no shame...............

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a friend of mine helped me psychologically through this chapter... Because it's like the first time I write a blowjob scene and I couldn't stop myself from overthinking it AAAAAAAAA  
> Thankfully it's done. I made momma proud

_Does this idiot think that he's being smooth?_  
Goro thought, looking at Ren while he was talking with Makoto. Akechi tried not to glare too much in his general direction, lest capturing his attention and deciding, in the end, to concentrate on more important matters.  
He sighed, it was pretty much his fault, to be fair, Ren was good-looking enough so he thought he would also have a pretty tolerable personality, how shallow and stupid of him to think that.  
Between the two times they talked to each other, Goro had enough proof to say Amamiya had everything but a bearable nature.

He was so plain looking too, from afar, so Akechi thought he was more of a shy person…

"Hi" Goro snapped his head up from his books, Amamiya had the audacity to look like he owned the place, seated beside him like he had no worries at all in the world.  
"Ah! Kurusu-kun, how nice to see you again" Amamiya rolled his eyes at that, maybe peeved by the fact the Goro couldn't stop calling him with the wrong name. Goro wasn’t going to stop just because of that, though.  
And he had the suspicion that the other man knew that.

"You seem busy," he said, matter of factly, doing everything but not distract him.  
"As you can see, we all are" Amamiya couldn't take a hint for his life, it seemed. No matter, there wasn't anyone besides him, Makoto and few others, so he wasn’t really disturbing anyone besides Goro.  
He scooted closer, invading Akechi's private space "What are you frowning about?"  
It took all of Goro's self-control not to close the book right in front of his nose.  
"Mostly events that we have to organize by the end of this semester" Amamiya hummed, stupidly.  
"If you are so interested in these matters, why don't you join us?"  
"I'm scared of commitment" it was so clearly a lie, and more of a joke and Goro didn't find it funny at all.  
"I see" Goro answered, closing the conversation.  
Amamiya played with his fringe, it was some kind of tick because it wasn't the first time he saw him doing it.  
Finally, it was quiet again, Amamiya looked like he was thinking about what to say or how to continue the conversation, and Goro had a moment of peace.  
It was a pity, Goro considered, when he was silent he was hot enough. Sadly his mouth ruined everything.  
"So… I was thinking" _oh, you do?_  
Akechi stopped himself from saying that, feigning interest instead.  
"I read online that there were some remedies to prevent people your age from getting memory loss later in life" Ah, there it was, the annoying teasing about the fact that he was one year older than him. He was surprised Amamiya didn't bring it up earlier.  
"Ah, my mistake, I didn't notice I used the wrong name there"  
"Sure you didn't" they looked at each other in the eyes, like there was some kind of untold dare between them. What was the prize? Goro didn't know yet.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere else by now, Ren?" Makoto interrupted their weird staring contest, mostly confused, Goro guessed by her tone.  
"Ah, yes sorry, I was just talking to Akechi for a bit" Amamiya straightened, his attention completely focused on the girl now. Akechi wondered why she insisted on bringing him as her lap dog, not that anyone in the student council had any complaints against it, but it still seemed a weird thing to do, especially coming from Makoto.  
But since Amamiya was good at making people like him, he was at loss as to why he thought it was a good tactic to be as annoying as possible with Goro.

Amamiya got up, eventually, slowly but trying not to look like an idiot while doing so. He didn’t succeed at that.  
“As always, it has been a pleasure talking with you,” he said, as a greeting of sorts, that only made Amamiya grin “Really? Likewise, then”

_ Don’t flatter yourself, you fool. _

Ren winked in his direction, as he was done saying his goodbyes to Makoto and the rest of their group, then he left.

Makoto sat down on the same chair her friend was a few moments earlier, looking at Akechi apologetically “Sorry, I know Ren can be… a handful, sometimes”  
“There’s no need to apologize” mostly because she wasn’t the annoying one, really “Actually I wanted to ask you something. I have noticed that you and Amamiya are very close” Goro looked around them, everyone seemed to be minding their own business, texting or talking between each other. It wasn’t the prime example of them ‘being very busy’, so he really couldn’t reprimand Ren for not taking him seriously when he said so earlier. “How did that happen?”  
Makoto looked very surprised by that, maybe he shouldn’t have asked.

“Ren is very good at socializing, and I am… not. So he offered to help me in that and some other personal problems I had recently” Oh, so windbag had also a golden heart, what a peach.  
“In return, he asked me to call him whenever I need help. I try to do so when I know he is not busy or when we have these kind of meetings” Akechi didn’t see where the fair exchange was, but, oh well… He didn’t care.  
It seemed like one of their colleagues did not agree, because he started yapping on and on about how Niijima was behaving unprofessionally, which Goro got immediately irritated by.  
“I don’t think it is unprofessional, in the end, I’ve only ever seen Amamiya here very rarely and in particular occasions like these, and Makoto makes sure that he’s only here for a short time.”  
The other student looked at him like he grew a second head. Good.  
“What I find truly unprofessional is that you eavesdropped our conversation” at that he looked offended. It seemed like he was about to start a discussion with Goro, but Makoto cut short, stopping the debate in its tracks.  
“That’s enough of that, let’s go back to the matters at hand.”

Goro wasn’t unfamiliar with antagonistic behavior, he was ready to not shy away from the argument, and keep his head straight and his tongue sharp. He wasn’t scared of an idiot that didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. Also, the fact that he tried to make Makoto look like she didn’t care for her duties pissed Goro off.

Dipshit.

It didn’t take them much to decide to give it a rest and wait for another day where everyone else, or at least a majority of the council, was present. Many of them were already tired anyway.

“Akechi-kun, a word, please?” Makoto stopped him before he could leave. Everyone else was already outside, probably done for the day, and going to their dormitories, to study or rest or going out with their friends.  
“Yes?”  
“You didn’t need to defend me back then, but... thank you” She looked very conflicted on to what to say next, knowing her older sister, Goro could tell that she was divided between telling him not to do that again and to be thankful.  
“You’re welcome” he lied through his teeth. He didn’t do it for her, he just hated people like that douche from before. People that could step in and undermine someone’s hard work like it was nothing. Like it was easy to throw dirt over one’s reputation.  
Akechi was used to that, being subject to other people’s envy, he knew their tricks and hated how sometimes it would work.  
That was one of the things that pushed him to not trust others easily. Not that it mattered, considering what he was studying, having too many friends was detrimental to his final goal.

“And I have to say that I’m sorry if Ren creates distraction” Ah, Makoto must have been talking specifically of the current day, considering that he and Amamiya had never interacted in the council room before that. It wasn’t a trouble before, Ren was more of a wallflower, always been very unassuming and quiet. “And also… I have noticed that you two are being friendly towards each other”  
Friendly wasn’t the term he would have used, it was more like mutual interest…

“I thought it would have been rude not to try and talk to him, considering how many times I have seen him in here” He didn’t know why he needed to justify himself, it wasn’t like they had something to hide.

***

They had a short day the incoming morning but he still found himself under so many levels of stress by midday. Especially because professors were breathing down his neck, clearly wanting stellar results from him and many others, putting everyone in competition for the smallest things. It was unnerving. Goro didn’t have many ways to relax, but he could think of a few that he could indulge in, in the short hour he had… Sure, a quickie in a bathroom stall wasn’t exactly the classiest of choices but…

Kuma’s big, blue eyes looked at him from his kneeled position, Goro kept being vigilant that no one walked in on them, but at least he made the tactful choice to go in one of the less frequented buildings, instead of following the other man’s suggestion and going it whenever they fancied.  
Akechi sighed, moving his hips forward and Kuma made a chocked noise but kept moving his head. He moved his tongue in a way that made Goro gasp and curse under his breath. He was good at that, damn, Goro tried his hardest not to look in his direction, sure he would cum immediately if he did.

Kuma took that as a cue to move his mouth away from his dick, making a wet pop sound when he did.  
He kept giving him a handjob, lest to stop what they were doing in that moment  
“This is why you called me here for?” he asked, his voice hoarse from how many times Goro’s dick hit the back of his throat. “You came onto me, don’t start now,” Akechi said, stuttering, moving his hips into his hand.  
Kuma laughed, not denying it, then got back to business. His tongue traced all of his dick’s underside, then lapped the head, and started sucking again. His head bobbed faster on his cock, clearly getting impatient.

Goro was getting hasty too, clearly, at his limit.  
“Should I get a little bit more rough with you?” Kuma hummed, a vague way to say that yes, he wanted that. Goro thrust inside Kuma’s warm frantically, in a pace that was meant to make Kuma struggle a bit.  
He grinned seeing the other boy’s eyes water from the exertion, deciding to give him a hand and stop punding his mouth for a few seconds. Kuma gasped, breathed for a bit, and then went on with more determination than before. It was a thing of beauty to see his resolution sparkle in his eyes.  
Goro thrust in Kuma’s mouth once, twice, and then he came deep inside his throat.  
Akechi moaned, covering his mouth with his hand, scared of making any noise even though there was no one with them. Kuma pushed himself from his crotch. A thread of saliva and sperm was still connecting the head of Goro’s dick to his lips.  
He was still trying to regain his composure when Kuma got up on his feet, cheerful as always like nothing happened.

He cleared his throat, still rough from their activity. “Will I see you tonight?” Goro and Naoto usually got out with Yu and Kuma to chat and drink (and sometimes Kuma’s brother would join them too). One could say that considering what Goro was studying he shouldn’t even contemplate going out, but exams were nowhere near and he had the weekend where he could get ready and study for the next week. Thankfully it was a Friday. “Sure. But this is the last time, I have a lot of things to do”  
“Yeah… Sure… Every time it’s the last time.” Kuma got closer to him, caressing his chest with a finger “You know, you could just say you enjoy our company” he added, smiling.

It’s not like he would lie straight up to his face, but… “I’m just bored, and you guys are actually not bad company, compared to the rest of people that seem to be either scared of me or straight-up hate me” he tucked his, now limp, dick in his boxers, after cleaning it with some paper towels. He didn’t want to have that conversation right that moment, in the blessed afterglow of his orgasm. Well, Kuma kind of killed it.

He straightened himself, getting out of the stall first, Kuma following suit, not caring about being caught. He fiddled with his gloves, feeling a little restless, but still calm, their activity made him relax a bit. The other man washed his hands, humming a slow but cheerful tune.  
"You seem to be in a good mood," asked Akechi  
"Yeah!" Him and Kuma never really had much to talk about, not because they didn't want to, it just… They were different people, Goro was always on edge, trying to keep his façade in place. Always hidden, always cautious. Kuma didn't care much of what people thought of him, he did what he wanted whenever he wanted.  
Goro envied him for that, that was probably why he let Kuma approach him. Akechi probably had a weak spot for people with that kind of attitude, because he let Amamiya pester him in the same way, now that he thought about it.  
Even so, there wasn't space for sentimentality between them, I wouldn't work, knowing himself, he would just push him away once he saw through his mask.  
Kuma never insisted on seeing that part either.

"Do you have lessons after midday?" Kuma moved from the sink to the toilet door, calmy, keeping the door open for him to get out first.  
"I do. I will be free in the evening" Goro slung his bag on his shoulder, passing through the door, not even looking if someone was outside.  
"Well that's fine, we can see each other before we get out with the others" Kuma winked at him, Goro ignored that, he probably didn't mean it.  
"We will see, for the moment I really need to go, bye" he glanced at his phone, he had only ten more minutes to get back to the main building, he rushed away, waving at the other boy.  
"Don't you want to eat something first?" Kuma screamed at him, he ignored him again, he had no time for lunch.

People were still eating when he got outside, they were talking relaxing under the sun and the chill breeze of late spring. He kinda wanted something to chew on something in that moment, he was getting hungry after all…

For maybe the second time in that week he ended up running into someone. He really should stop getting distracted.  
Goro held his balance, but the other person fell on their ass, dropping an empty water bottle on the ground and a plastic container that probably had a sandwich in it.  
"Ah! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" Goro rushed to help the other person up  
"I'm ok! Thanks…" she, it was a girl, looked at him "Did I spill something on you?" She asked, more worried about Akechi's clothes than her well-being  
"No, no I'm fine" he answered, always the over-polite one.  
She started grabbing the stuff that she dropped, still seemingly not worried about herself. Goro raised an eyebrow, about to ask if she hit her head or something, just to be sure that she didn't get hurt for real…

That was when someone stopped him from asking, well not physically but more like he recognized the voice that called over the girl in front of him.  
"Haru!" Amamiya got closer to the both of them, clearly concerned.  
"Ah, Ren" she looked in his direction, her general expression got happier like she saw something she really liked.  
"Are you ok?" He asked, holding her shoulders and looking for any scratches, probably.  
"Yes! I'm fine!"  
Only then Amamiya looked in Goro's direction like he didn't notice him coming over.  
"Akechi, what a coincidence, was talking about you to Haru just some minutes ago." That was surprising.  
"Kurusu-kun, it's a coincidence indeed" Goro answered automatically “What were you saying about me?”  
“I had a request for you…”  
Haru looked between them, confused "K-Kurusu…?" Her question sidetracked Ren’s main matter of conversation, distracting him, of course.  
Ren looked at her, smiling "You see, Akechi here forgets my surname every time we see each other, he always comes up with the wrong one" Akechi didn't have time for his stupid teasing  
Haru giggled, a cute little sound that came out of her mouth "Oh! I see"  
"Ah, sorry again, I don't know why I can't seem to remember, really" Akechi smiled himself, not mad at the situation at hand, but still in a rush.  
"I'm sorry, but I have to get going, it was nice seeing you again… Uhm…" he faked thinking about it, Amamiya crossed his arms, still smiling "Amamiya" he answered  
"Amamiya-kun, and…?" Goro looked in the girl's direction, an indirect question for her name.  
"It's Okumura, Okumura Haru, nice to meet you Akechi-kun" she answered, very politely. Ah,  
Haru Okumura.

Amamiya seemed to have a very particular group of friends around him.  
"and Okumura-san. But I have to get going, I have a lesson in..." he checked his phone again, three minutes left, but at least he was pretty close.  
"Three minutes!" He said urgently  
"Well don't let us stop you" Amamiya winked again, changing Akechi's mood instantly.  
He was not sure if it was for the worse or the better.  
Goro nodded, waving at them, and left, hurrying over to the main building.

He wondered why Amamiya was friends with Okumura Haru out of all people, they seemed to come from pretty diverse social backgrounds. Then he remembered that Makoto told him that Amamiya was good at socializing, no wonder he would try and go for the richest girl on campus.  
Whatever, not his business.

***

He didn't expect to see Amamiya outside of his classroom when he got done with his last lesson of the evening. He waved one hand in Goro's direction and Akechi got closer.  
"Hi" always the silent one in public, Amamiya stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he looked a little embarrassed, which surprised Goro.  
"Good evening, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Everyone around them kept walking, again, it was Friday, they probably all were going to their dormitories or outside, Goro himself had plans that evening.  
"Oh it's nothing"  
thought Akechi.  
"Care to walk with me for a sec?" Amamiya nodded towards the exit  
"After you" Answered Goro, moving when the other boy started walking.

The sun wasn't setting, yet.  
People were walking around, or sitting by the trees, enjoying the last bits of the evening sunlight.

"So, what is it?" Goro asked after a few seconds of silence.  
Amamiya scratched the top of his head "Well… You know that I'm the photography department, right?"  
"Yes, of course"

They kept walking, seemingly to nowhere in particular.

"I'm sure this will seem like a sudden question but…" That was the first time Akechi saw Amamiya that bashful, it was kind of charming, he thought smiling.  
"I need some models, I have project at the end of this semester, and I need a few more options to choose"  
Well, he didn't expect to be asked that but considering that Ren didn't tease him, it looked like he considered this to be pretty serious to him.  
Akechi thought about it for a second. Knowing Amamiya, he probably had a few more options, so the possibility that he would end up choosing Goro's photos were slim.  
He was lucky Goro was in a good mood, to begin with, "And you want me to be one of them?"  
"Yeah… If that's ok with you, of course. You can say no" Akechi was sure he didn't really mean it, and that he would look pretty disappointed if he said no. The other boy was looking at him nervously like he wanted him to say yes.  
"I need to think this over" Amamiya nodded, looking crestfallen but still hopeful.  
"We can exchange numbers, and I will text you my answer, if you wish" Goro pulled out that excuse out of his ass, to be honest. But it was fine, Ren seemed to be ok with that, and at the end of the story, he had his contact, as easy as that.

"Try not to save me as Kurusu" Amamiya added when he saw him typing.  
Akechi smiled, locking his phone "Of course, I'm not that rude"

He did save him as Kurusu.

"Well… Thanks, for not saying no at least" That was a weird thing to say thanks to  
"Thank you for considering me good-looking enough to be photographed" Amamiya snorted, looking through his lie.  
"You're welcome, oh so modest Goro Akechi-kun" he answered, smirking at his stupid joke. Goro stopped himself from rolling his eyes, smiling instead.

"What are you going to do tonight?" Ren asked  
"I have some commitments I have to attend to" Goro answered, stopping, they were by his dormitory room now.  
"I thought you would have been the type to study all weekend"  
"I usually am, but I'm trying to not overdo it. It could be detrimental to my grades if I overstressed" It already happened once, and it wasn't pretty.  
His phone vibrated in his hand, Goro looked down to see who was calling him.

Kuma.

Of course, out of all the people that he knew, and there weren’t many, Kuma was probably the only one to still call instead of text.  
“I have to go, I’m sorry” Akechi looked at Amamiya with a pained expression.  
“Don’t worry about it. Have a nice weekend Akechi” Amamiya waved, leaving faster than Goro could answer.  
Someone was embarrassed.

Goro giggled, very charming indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have the Akeshu dirties *wink wonk*


	3. 3.

Ren heard Haru sip on her coffee cup, while he checked on his cell phone for maybe the fifth time since he sat down that evening. Between him and Haru, Ann was looking at them with the most perplexed expression he had ever seen on her face.

"Well…? Did something happen?" Ann asked, Ren could tell that she was asking herself why she was invited.

Ren couldn't blame her for being suspicious, in the end, he usually hung up with Haru alone, at least most of the time, she always was there on the rare occasions they all managed to hang out together.

Ren locked his phone, he had no notifications anyways. Not that he was waiting for any.

"We wanted to talk about… Sakamoto-kun" Haru answered, her face had a worried expression at that, with her lips pressed together and her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Ah… Is he skipping class again?" Ann stiff posture relaxed at that, now knowing what was the subject of the meeting they were all having.

Ryuji had a history of skipping every time he got dumped, it was completely understandable, but his grades would suffer, and he already wasn't exactly doing great on his good days. 

"Not that I know of…" Ren answered, "He just seems gloomy".

"Yesterday we asked him to eat with us during lunch break, but he said he had something else to do" Haru explained, her voice was quiet, but her face was showing sign of worry.

"He never has something to do" Ren added flatly, looking at Ann.

She nodded, eyebrows furrowed in concetration "He sure is sad about this. It's been like a week, by this time he usually is over it already" 

Ann sure did look serious when it came to romantic problems, Ren gave her hell for it sometimes, but she was helpful, even though he has never seen her in a romantic date with someone in those two years he has known her.

"I see..." Haru folded her hands under the table, her gaze down to her hands. The white tablecloth of the fancy cafe they were seated at hid how much she was nervously fiddling with her napkin.

Her downcast expression was painful to watch.

Ann seemed to be of the same opinion when Ren exchanged a sideways glance with her, and she was quick to reassure her "I-I'm sure he will be fine! He just has bad luck on this sort of things"

Ren would call those faulty decisions more than bad luck, Ryuji also seemed quick to fall in love with people he barely knew… and the result was always that he ended with a broken heart.

"He will be ok" he added "as long as we are there for him, I'm sure he will get on his feet soon".

They changed subjects after that, mostly to stop Haru from sulking too much about it. Lately she had been showing a lot of interest in Ryuji's wellbeing, Ren could not pinpoint if it was because she cared a lot about her friends or if it was because she liked him in particular.

"Did you ask Akechi-kun to pose for you in the end?" Haru asked, while Ann looked very surprised by that.

"Akechi?" Ann shrieked "Last time I checked you guys didn't even know each other! When did this happen?" She was looking at Ren like she was going to kill him, probably because he omitted that piece of info from her.

Ren played with his fringe "Last week" it wasn't like he didn't want to tell her, he just forgot.

"So you asked him to pose for you? Like, in photos?" Ann leaned towards him, wanting to know more, her gossipy nature coming out without any preambles.

"Yeah… He said he would think about it, and text me once he made up his mind" Granted, that happened before the weekend, it had been five days since then. But who was counting? Not him, for sure.

"Do you think he will say yes?" Ann asked, sitting back on her chair once she noticed that some people were looking at her funny.

"I… have no idea" 

Honestly speaking, he expected a no when he asked, considering that Yusuke had no luck with Goro either. Somehow waiting for an answer was even more tortuous than a no…

"Granted, he looks like the type of person that's very conscious of his appearance" Haru was deep in contemplation.

Ren wondered if it was because of that that no one seemed to notice what was going on between Akechi and Kuma. Ren pictured Goro telling Kuma not to tell anyone about it, and it didn't look too far from reality, to be honest.

"So maybe that's why he's wary about letting someone else represent him?" Continued Ren.

Haru nodded, her and Ren looking at each other like they were trying to solve some kind of mystery, both of them bought their hands to their chins, deep in thought. Ann laughed at that.

"You guys… Are so weird sometimes" she added, wiping a small tear from her eye.

"I think you're not too far from the truth, but the way you guys look when you do the analyzing just…" she giggled "it kills me!" She laughed a little bit more, Haru started giggling with her, while Ren just smiled.

Ann calmed down after a bit, the other patrons looking at her like she was being very rude. They all ignored that, Ren mostly didn't care, and most likely Ann nor Haru didn’t either, in the end, they were all too stuck up to say something either way.

"You still haven't told me how you got to know him?" Ann sipped on her tea, looking at him menacingly, not wording the fact that she would kill him if he dared not tell her.

"He…"  _ was fucking Kuma and I happened to see them, he doesn't know, and I still don't know what to do with that info.  _

Of course he would never say that _.  _

"He saw me in the student council room, with Makoto, and we stumbled upon each other. He got friendly and talked to me" 

_ I nag him a lot because it's fun, and because he actually fights back. I find him interesting. _

"So I thought it would be a good occasion to ask him" he ended, lamely.

"I'm sure he will say yes, he seems to be very courteous" Haru smiled, probably thinking about the time she met him. Maybe she was right.

"I'm sure of that too. Does he know your shots are great? Has he ever seen any of your pictures?" The teacup Ann was holding did a small clinking noise against the saucer. 

"No…" 

"Aw, bummer. It would have helped a lot" she added, looking at Ren sympathetically.

"I guess so." He said, closing that topic.

They kept talking for maybe another hour, mostly about unimportant stuff or their studies.

Ann lamented that she had chosen the wrong course again, Russian proving to be kind of hard since she didn't really take it seriously since the beginning. She was doing ok in Korean and Spanish, which was a relief for her. Ren didn't really have much to say about his courses, they were all fine. Haru said that she really wanted to open up her own cafe once she finished her studies, which bought her and Ann to daydream about what they would do in the cafe and what they would eat. Ren just listened, not bothered at all.

At the end of the evening, they were all pretty content of how they had spent their time. Ann and Haru waved him goodbye, they were going in the complete opposite direction of where he was going. Luckily for Ann, Haru proposed to give her a ride to her flat, not far away from their campus, and Ren simply refused, choosing to go alone to his apartment. 

His phone vibrated on his pocket once he was waiting for his train.

He checked quickly, just to see who sent him a message.

Goro Akechi.

He locked his phone, then he unlocked it again. Just to lock it another time.

Ah damn… What if he said no? 

Did Ren really care about a refusal? From a person he barely knew? 

Well… No. Generally speaking, he couldn't care less.

But he really loved photography and he took it very at heart when it came down to that. It was probably the only thing he was passionate about. So he was a bit insecure about some things. He could get professional about it when it came down to it, but he truly never asked someone he didn't know to pose for him.

Granted him and Akechi weren't complete strangers… And there was still that picture he took that made him feel super weird around Akechi every time he saw him. 

Like he wanted to grasp what he saw that time because when he thought about it there was that low feeling in his belly that made him feel completely ravenous and hungry of something he didn't even knew he wanted.

So it was weird.

He probably was only horny, to be honest.

He sighed, unlocking his phone again.

**(Akechi):** My apologies (18.09)

Well that was short, did it mean no, though? Was he saying sorry because he said no?

His phone vibrated again in his hand.

**(Akechi)** : I have been busy these past days, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you wait that much, and since you said it was a project, I'm sure my tardiness stole a lot of your time. (18.10)

Ah, well, yes, but he had Ann's photos, so worst-case scenario, he would just show her shots.

Another notification.

**(Akechi)** : So I have been thinking about your proposal these past few days. And… I don't see why I should say no, you seem quite competent in what you do, so for once I'm going to trust my intuition and say yes. (18.10)

**(Akechi)** : If you still want me, that is. (18.10)

Ren hurried to answer that.

**(Kurusu)** : I still want you, thanks for saying yes (18.11)

He cringed, 'I still want you'... He corrected himself.

**(Kurusu)** : *I still want to work with you (18.11)

**(Kurusu)** : Sorry, lapsus (18.11)

Well… That sure didn't make things better…

His train came, not empty, but it had some seats open here and there, he really didn't need to seat, and his stop was just two stations ahead.

**(Akechi)** : I have not much experience in this… What should I wear? (18.15)

**(Kurusu)** : Nothing fancy, just look good. I'm sure you won't need my help in that ;) (18.15)

No answer for that. Maybe he overdid it. 

He got out of the train, walking out of the station and toward his apartment. His phone vibrated again.

**(Akechi)** : Very well, then. (18.19)

**(Akechi)** : I have to go now, thanks for your time. (18.19)

**(Kurusu)** : Before you go, can you tell me when is it ok for you to meet? (18.20)

**(Akechi)** : This weekend should be safe. I'll text you the hour later. (18.21)

Ren was… pretty content now that he had a clear answer. It felt like his anxiety flew away from his body, and he felt like he was floating by the time he opened the door to his flat.

No one was there, as usual. He was supposed to have a roommate, but the person in question (Yusuke) was very much content on staying all their time with Futaba. So it was almost like he lived alone for the most part. He dropped his bag on the sofa in the living room.

It was going to be a long week. But the silver lining was that he had something in the weekend to look forward to.

***

He sighed in relief once the lecture was over. It wasn't very urgent, but he needed to pee and it was starting to make his attention sway during that hour.

He waved his goodbyes quickly, his colleagues as courteous as always with him. They went along for the most part since Ren was accommodating and very hard to pick on, and them being… Well, normal. He couldn't say they were friends, but Ren made it very hard to be unlikable, using his charm when needed and staying silent when it was necessary.

He hurried towards the bathroom, not many people were in the corridors since it was a full day, most of them were still in lectures or studying in the common rooms or in the library.

He looked at his phone, no message. Maybe Akechi wasn't the texting type of person, or maybe he just straight up forgot. He really needed to know an hour though, maybe he could cut to the chase and ask him in person…

When he entered the bathroom he saw a very familiar face that made him stop like an idiot in front of the bathroom door, slightly surprised expression on his face.

Kuma was washing his hands.

Well, of course, he didn't know Ren knew, but it was so jarring to see him after so many times Ren repeated what he saw in his mind.

He coughed, regaining composure fast enough, and moving towards the urinals. 

For the most part, Kuma didn't seem to look his way, and once he was done, he got out of there.

Ren didn't know what a nervous pee was until that moment, sighing in relief once Kuma was out of the room. 

Jeez.

He should really stop thinking about that. He didn't even know the guy and he felt guilty, and the same went with Akechi giving him always that weird tingly feeling every time he saw him.

While washing his hands he considered if he should text Akechi and ask him straight away the hour of their appointment, but he didn't want to be too insistent, nor he wanted to look like a creep. So he decided that he would bear with it and be more patient.

One of the stall doors burst open, Ren didn’t pay it much mind, since he was still pondering if he should really wait or act, but when the other person began to wash their hands too he recognized them with the corner of his eye.

“Akechi, hi,” Ren said, directly looking at the other boy. He seemed to be surprised, like he was also lost in his own mind. 

“Ah, it’s you” Akechi answered, matter of factly. “Hello”

It didn’t take him much to put two and two together since Kuma got out of there in the span of a few minutes. Actually, he was surprised, the fact that they did it in one of the main buildings, in a bathroom stall, was pretty bold. Or maybe he was seeing things, maybe they just happened to be in the same room without the other knowing.

“What a coincidence, I was going to text you” Akechi dried his hands on one paper towel, shortly neating himself like there was something out of place in his appearance. Maybe he had his doubts since Ren was probably was still looking at him like he had grown a second head.

He should stop staring, very quickly.

“Ah yes, completely forgot about it” he lied.

“Mh… Is Saturday by 3 pm fine by you?” he crossed his arms, propping his hip on the sink, he smiled in his direction in a way that Ren didn’t recognize.

Ren recollected quickly if he had any business on that day and hour, but nothing came to mind “3 pm it’s perfect.”

Akechi looked like he was considering asking him something, eyeing him from head to toe. Ren faked being interested in a black splotch in the wall. 

In the end, Goro thanked him for his patience. “I have been quite busy this week, I’m sorry if my attitude came out like I was not interested in your proposal anymore…”

Ren shook his head “It’s fine, we’re all busy, I completely understand”

“Very well.” His cellphone vibrated in his pocket, looking at it Akechi showed the same expression that he had the last time he saw him receive a phone call. 

“That is my cue to leave. Thanks again, see you Saturday!” Ren said, moving towards the door, quickly.

“Alright, bye” he heard Akechi say, tone distracted by something.

That was the second time he left Akechi in a hurry, it probably wasn’t going to be the last one either. He just got super weird every time he thought about what he saw. He could not stay in the same room as Akechi without thinking about it, so, he just hurried away instead.

Which came out as him being shy or abrasive. Two things that he never was to begin with.

And now, Akechi seemed to have something in mind, which could be a good sign or a terrible one.

He huffed, either way he needed to deal with that quickly.

***

“Boss told me to remind you that you need to show up at Leblanc some times.” Yusuke posed his art supplies and canvas on the ground by the entrance. Ren was seated on the ground, checking out some printed photos he had of Inokashira Park, he looked in the direction of Yusuke.

“Ah, hi.” Ren waved “ I will” he answered shortly. He would call Le Blanc in the evening.

“You’re here early. Did Sojiro kick you out because you were eating all of his food?” Ren collected the prints, putting them in a neat stack and getting up with them in hand.

Yusuke took out his shoes. “No… He just said that he wanted some time alone with his daughter” He clearly didn’t get Ren’s sarcastic remark, so Ren didn’t bother explaining.

“How’s Futaba?” 

“She’s ok, busy with her job” 

“Ah I see, Sojiro kicked you out because he felt sorry that she ignored you all that time” Ren joked. 

Yusuke still didn’t get it, because he looked at Ren like it just dawned on him why he got to stay in his apartment for the weekend. “Do you-” he started.

“No, was kidding. She’ll text you” Ren interrupted him.

Yusuke sighed.

“Do you need help with that?” Ren pointed out the bag of art supplies that was still on the ground.

"Ah yes, that's very kind of you" Ren put the prints on the kitchen table and then got the bag, while Yusuke moved the canvas, both of them moved to the latter's room.

"So what did you work on?" Ren asked after some fumbling. The canvas was pretty small, considering the big ones that he kept in the university's art room.

They never bothered to move it to the small studio they had in the apartment, mostly because it was always used by Ren but not Yusuke.

"My next project it's about human nature and its emotions" Yusuke looked pensive while looking at his work, he was always the type to be critic of his work. Ren could understand, being himself extremely aware of every single detail in his photos.

"Many of my classmates decided to represent something positive. They said that altruism, joy or hope are worth the work" Yusuke got closer to the canvas, its dark colors showing Ren what the other boy chose to do before he could even say it.

"Personally, I disagree, there is so much more than that to the human nature…" Ren listened carefully, Yusuke was the type to always talk about whatever came to his mind. His sincerity was something that brought him to let Yusuke be his roommate. He wasn't even angry about the fact that he was almost never there.

"I think that negative emotions are as equally representable…" Yusuke ended.

"Just be careful not to be too caught up in what you chose" Ren shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hiding his hands in the pockets of the sweatpants he was currently wearing.

"Whatever you mean?" Yusuke looked at him curiously.

There was this photographer Ren looked up to for a few years, his name was Sebastiao Salgado. He used to do photo reportages about human migrations, most of them caused by wars and poverty, but he had to stop eventually when it all caught up to him and he fell in deep depression because of the thought of so much negativity and such a sad reality.

He was sure Yusuke wouldn't touch such extremes, but human nature could be ugly too, and if not treated carefully it could lead one to madness.

He wasn't going to say all of that to his friend, of course.

"It can get ugly… choosing to concentrate on the sad part of human emotions, I mean." He simply said.

"Ah yes, of course. That's why I'm going with something that I fully know"

"Which is?"

"Loss" 

Ah. Of course.

He had to think quick to brighten the mood since Yusuke seemed like he was going to fall into a dangerous territory.

"Didi you manage to talk with Ryuji?” Ren asked

“Ah, yes… Futaba managed to get in touch with him” Which meant that Futaba pestered him to death, maybe even menacing him to make public his porn chronology or something similar, Ren only knew how much she was convincing with her threats. He just wished to never be on the wrong end those messages.

“Ryuji will be free Saturday, you should come with” said Yusuke after some seconds, he still was watching the canvas propped against his wall.

“Can’t”

“How so?” 

“I have a-”  _ date  _ “project”

“I thought you were done, didn’t Ann help you by being your muse?”

Ren smiled “I found a new muse” 

Yusuke was about to ask him to elaborate, but his phone vibrated in his pocket, and by the tone in which he answered it seemed that Futaba finally noticed that he was gone.

He left the room, far away from whatever the conversation was going to evolve. He knew the two of them, he was sure they would resolve the problem in no seconds.

Ren picked up his prints, moving to his room. 

In his pocket, his phone kept vibrating, when he unlocked it to see what was the big urgence he noticed that the group chat that he and his colleagues used to communicate, was bursting with messages.

Mh, never a good sign.

**(A.)** : Attention guys, whoever wanted to use the common photography studio this weekend, have to change their plans. Seems like something came up and it will be unavailable from Saturday to Tuesday. The professor said that we will be doing outdoors shots since we cannot use the studio.

**(U.):** What?! Are u kidding me, man? I was supposed to use it Saturday in the morning! Fucking bullshit. 

**(O.):** Did the professor specify what happened?

**(A.)** : No.

**(U.):** fuck that…

**(Ren):** Thanks for the heads up.

**(Y.)** : There has to be a reason why he just said not to use it

**(U.)** : Yeah!

**(H.)** : all Photography students use that room, I don't think there's much behind it, don't start being stingy and start with the wild theories

**(O.)** : Urgh, I just can't stand him-

Ren silenced the chat room and locked his cellphone. That was a problem. Not a big one, but still a problem.

He considered if he should cancel or if he should use the small studio he had in the apartment.

Pros: If he used the studio he could have more time to take his shots. With less hurry and urgency 

Cons: … Akechi would know where he lived?

He considered that it wasn't much of a con if Goro knew where his apartment was.

So he ended up deciding to move the location instead of canceling altogether.

**(Kurusu):** I just got notice that there is a problem with the university studio

**(Kurusu):** If it's ok for you, we can relocate. I have a studio in my apartment, we can take the photos there

Akechi's answer was immediate, which he didn't really expect.

**(Akechi):** Understood. In what dormitory do you reside?

**(Ren):** I don’t live on campus, I have my own apartment

It took Akechi some minutes to answer.

**(Akechi):** I see… Care to send me your address?

Huh. Not exactly the answer he was expecting. Actually he wasn't expecting a response in particular. Ren sent his address.

**(Akechi):** See you tomorrow then.

Wait. What? He checked his phone, it was indeed, Friday. He lost track of time, like his usual. Damn.

**(Kurusu):** See you tomorrow

***

Ren fidgeted a little bit with the camera stand, then his clothes. Nothing was out of order, of course, but he still felt like he needed to check a second time.

He was fine, he was dressed like every day. Messy curls and jeans, and a normal polo shirt on. Nothing fancy, nothing weird.

Yusuke looked at him like he was going insane.

"You seem nervous. Do you have a date?" Ren said no.

He wasn't the type to be nervous for a date, he added

Yusuke clearly didn’t believe him, but said nothing about it. 

"Understood… I must go now, I will try and pry Ryuji from his bed. I will see you in a few hours" with that said, Yusuke went out, bag on his shoulder and keys jingling when he closed the door.

Alone in the apartment, he got a little more time to recollect himself.. he went to check the camera again, but as soon as he was going to open the door to the studio, the doorbell rang.

Ren jumped, looked around as if he was being watched by someone and ran to the buzzer, without checking he opened the outside door.

He then remembered that he didn't tell Akechi the floor he was supposed to get to. Dammit.

So he sent a quick text to tell him the floor.

He waited by the door with his heart literally beating out if his chest. What the fuck.

What was wrong with him?

He coughed, then breathed deeply again.

Right that second Akechi ringed the second doorbell.

He waited a few seconds, not wanting to look like the type of person that would wait right by the door.

Then he opened.

Goro looked up from his phone, he had a slight frown in his face. 

"Ah, thanks the heavens, I thought I had the wrong door for a moment" he locked his phone, smiling.

"Thanks for coming" Ren muttered, moving to the side.

Akechi entered, looking around.

"I didn't think you had an entire apartment to yourself to live here"

Ren moved to get Akechi's jacket from him and then put it in the coat hanger, the other man whispered a very polite ‘thanks’ at that.

"My parents paid for it." Ren said that neutrally. His parents just… didn't care much about him.

They took care of him, but they were not present most of the time… Hell, Sojiro was a better parental figure than them, and Ren only knew him for like two years.

"Do you live alone here?" Akechi asked, moving closer to him. He didn't notice, but Goro was dressed quite good that day. 

Ren felt the sudden need to drink something.

“No, I have a roommate,” he said, and then moved to the kitchen area, completely withdrawing from the conversation he said “Do you need something to drink?”

Akechi straight out ignored his question, but moved closer to where he was again “Who’s your roommate, if I may ask?” 

Ren looked for a glass “Does it matter?" He grumbled

"Pardon me?" Goro said, behind him.

"I said: are you sure you don’t want something?” He turned around to find Akechi sitting in one of the chairs, looking at him with a smile on his lips.

“I do, but I don’t think you can provide for that, yet”

What the fuck did  _ that _ mean.

“Mh. Alright.” Ren nodded, at loss of words “Mh.” 

Akechi was probably playing with him, it was almost like he  _ knew  _ and that was freaking Ren out a little bit. He tried to play it cool as much as he could though.

“You are very quiet today, is something the matter?”

“Nothing… I just…" He didn't continue that phrase. "What about we move to the studio?” His voice broke, of course it did. He cleared his throat. Goddammit.

Akechi seemed to ignore that, ever the polite one, but he got up, ready to follow. 

There wasn’t much there, the room was big enough to have one end of it completely dedicated to where the photos were taken, a white background and a small chair, and the equipment he needed for the day. Which wasn’t much.

On the other half he had a small couch on one side and a chair with small desk where he would put his pc and work there if needed.

Akechi made an interested sound, a cute little thing that sounded like melody to Ren’s ears.

“This is very well equipped for being a small studio” he pointed out, checking and watching around.

“Yeah…” Ren answered, already checking automatically if something was out of place. The machine laid pristine and clean on its plate. 

“I’m gonna need you to sit down now” Ren said “it’s ok if you don’t know what to do at first, I just need to see what light works better for you” he adjusted his glasses, looking at Goro after that. Their eyes met, and something like electricity passed in the air but no one dared to say something about it.

“... I’m impressed, you sound more serious than usual” Akechi then proceeded to move and sit in front if the camera, Ren raised one eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m sorry, would you prefer if I started annoying you like usual?”

“So you admit you were importunating me on purpose, then?”

Ren looked at Goro through the camera lens, the light was great like that, made his eyes shine in a beautiful, dangerous way.

“Mh… Who knows, maybe I was, a little bit…” Ren smirked, Goro pulled off an annoyed expression.

_ Click _

And now it was saved on his camera roll. He then looked very much confused and surprised.

“I thought you were checking the lights” he scowled, he seemed to be unable to stop himself from letting whatever he was thinking overflow, everything was showing on his face. 

Which was a nice change for once.

“I did, you look great” Ren winked.

_ Click _

The second time he was ready, his expression neutral and not letting Ren capture anything.

He tilted his head “Would you mind posing for a bit?”

Goro blinked “I don’t know how to do that naturally”

“Would you feel weird if I told you what to do?” 

Something about that question made Goro smile “Not at all”

Ren nodded “There isn’t much to do with what we have here, so a few basic things are fine”

He then proceeded to tell him to tilt his head one way or another, move or cross his arms, lean back a bit.

In the end they had something like a few good shots. One magnificent one where he managed to make Goro laugh, and the one that he took in the beginning. It came to his attention that many of the shots were so… fake looking. Something about Akechi's expressions looked so staged, almost practiced, the way his eyes looked when he smiled, the way his lips curved… everything looked so… perfect, in a bad way… Ren wasn't really going to point that out out loud to Goro, but it sure was something that he would have to keep in mind for future reference.

For the most part, Ren was satisfied with what he had.

He just needed one more shot.

He tried to explain what he wanted to Goro, but it seemed that somehow he wasn't really understanding that… So he had to get closer to show him.

"So… If you move your arms like this and lean back a bit…" he didn't really know why Akechi was watching him like he had suddenly a second nose on his face, he seemed very surprised that he was touching him.

Ren noticed a little bit late that they were kind of close. When he moved his head to look at the other boy was when everything suddenly happened.

They just looked at each other in the eyes for a few seconds, and Ren was quite sure Akechi didn't know what to do either.

But something was there, something painted in his eyes, something like want, something like lust.

Ren moved his hand to touch Akechi's cheek, he didn't move away from it, he just leaned a bit into it, actually.

Did he need to say something? No. Did he need to touch him more? Yes, absolutely.

So me moved his head closer, and closer, with the intention to kiss Goro.

He closed his eyes, just barely, hopeful that Akechi would come his way and meet him halfway, but somehow, his lips found just skin.

Goro's neck was there to meet his kiss.

Fuck.

"I'm sorry, I clearly read the situation wrong" he started muttering, moving away from Goro. 

"I'm just going to-" 

Goro stopped him, his hand was holding Ren's arm, not letting him go. Looking at his face, he seemed very determined…

"You didn't." He stepped up, the high stool he was seated on scraped against the floor till it touched the wall.

"I actually want to do more than just kissing" Goro got very close, his grasp on Ren's arm still present. 

Ren didn't know what to say, he was still so, so surprised.

"Tell me you want this too" Akechi asked, his breath mingling with Ren's.

"I do" Ren said, his hand moved to hold Goro's hip, moving them even closer. They both gasped, something like electricity sparked between them. And somehow they couldn't stop touching each other, Ren's hands snaked around, not knowing where to land, there was so much of Goro to grasp… his chest, his hips, his back, everything felt perfect.

  
  


His hands landed on Akechi's ass, and he squeezed, resulting in Goro's crystalline laugh. Something bubbled deep in his chest, he wanted that sound to last forever.

Goro's lips were on his neck, something close to what Ren did, but better. He bit, the pain was not too strong, and moving his face to the side, Ren could smell Akechi's hair.

It was heaven.

It was also hell.

They stumbled in the cramped space until the back of Ren's knees touched the arm of the couch. When Goro pushed him, he suddenly felt the cushions of the couch on his back.

Goro climbed on him, and the vision of that was oh so great, oh so sweet.

His hands moved, wanting to touch more, while Akechi's were again everywhere.

"I need to…" Goro muttered, Ren wasn't sure if it was to himself and maybe he wasn't meant to hear that. Everything was so rushed, so, so needy, so lustful. 

Ren held Akechi’s hips with both hands, rutting his upwards, Goro gasped, surprised, looking at him with big, big eyes and evident arousal.

Something switched again, and Goro was on his neck again, biting and sucking on the skin, Ren could only exhale, feeling Akechi’s weight on him.

He moved his hands on his back, his lite frame and toned body was something Ren could appreciate, while still rutting against each other like they were animals with no self control. It felt nice, being this unhinged for once, Ren usually would take things more calmly, but with Akechi it really seemed impossible for him to be composed.

When Goro raised himself again, his hair was a little bit in disarray but he clearly didn’t care at that point and Ren didn’t bother saying anything. 

He looked good anyways.

Even so, the fact that they were still dressed was starting to be frustrating, especially because he could still feel the pressure of Akechi’s erection against his, but not much relief came from it, just more arousal.

It seemed like Goro was of the same opinion, because his face became a mask of slight annoyance over it, his hands moving to Ren’s pants to unbutton them.

((“Are you the type to not talk when sex is happening?” Ren asked out of nowhere, Goro moved the zip of his jeans downwards,

“Not really, sex is sex, I don’t need the feel to fill it with useless blabbing when it’s not necessary” he answered, the jab at Ren’s decision of asking unnecessary questions didn’t go unnoticed.))

It felt like he was being more of a spectator to this, so he started doing the same to Goro’s pants, gaining an appreciative noise from him. 

Ren is a very determined person when it came down to get what he really wanted, so in the grand scheme of what he planned, him ending under a very aroused Akechi was a definite success.

But he really didn't expect it to happen so quickly… So when both of them found themselves with their pants open, that was when Ren’s plans fell short.

Not that it mattered because Akechi was already on the next step, holding both of their dicks together.

Goro flicked his wrist experimentally, and both of them moaned, he smirked, clearly satisfied with that reaction.

“What now?” Ren muttered, sneaking his hands underneath Goro’s shirt, his skin felt hot, and so soft.

“Well… What about…” Akechi moved his hand again, faster, he had pretty slender fingers, and very soft hands. His grip was on both of their dicks, the underside of Ren’s erection brushed up against Goro’s. Ren hummed, Goro smiled devilishly.

Everything felt so deliciously good…

Ren kept moving his hands upwards, feeling toned and lean muscles under his touch. He fought the frustration of not being able to undress completely, so he pulled Goro’s shirt upwards, revealing pale skin.

Under Goro’s curious stare Ren smirked, muttering a “Wouldn’t want you to get dirty, would we?” Offering the fabric to Akechi’s lips, the other didn’t seem to agree nor to disapprove, but still bit on the shirt.

Akechi kept moving his hand, painfully slow, a teasing glint on his eyes, somehow it seemed to Ren that he wanted to prove something.

What, he wasn't really sure yet.

Ren moved his hips at best as he could, moving Akechi upwards at every push, stil, grunting in frustration at how little leverage that position gave him. Sweat started to build on his forehead, and he was quite sure Akechi's hand was starting to hurt just at how fast it was moving. Their labored breathing and grunts and moaning was the only sound that came to Ren's ears, but even so neither of them had the intention to stop.

He was almost there, he could taste how close he was, and he was pretty sure Akechi was close too, from the way he closed his eyes and his breathing was becoming more and more erratic, breathing through his teeth.

In all of this he failed to hear the front door open, but he very clearly heard the “Ren” that came from the kitchen, footsteps getting dangerously close to his studio, Akechi heard it too, a panicked expression painted over his face.

They looked at each other with big eyes, they moved quickly, Goro moved from his legs, Ren had enough time to just straighten his clothes,and not have his dick out in the air, and ran toward the door, before it could be opened.

He peeked from it, opening just enough for his head to be seen. Futaba looked back at him, hand on the door handle. “Hey” he said, his voice sounded out of breath and slightly strained.

“Uh” Futaba looked at him suspiciously “I bought some burgers, I thought it would have been a good idea to eat together, you me and Yusuke”

“Yusuke is with Ryuji, didn’t he tell you?” Futaba blinked at that, shook her head.  _ Goddamn you, Yusuke. _

“Can you give me a few minutes? I’ll be with you in a second”

“Ooook, I’ll wait here in the kitchen” Futaba seemed to know all of a sudden that she came at a very awkward moment.

He closed the door, looking back at the couch, Akechi was now sitting on it, looking back with a slightly annoyed expression on his face.

“I take that was…”

“My roommate's girlfriend” Ren continued

“Ah…” there were a few minutes of silence between the two of them “I guess that is my cue to leave then” Akechi got up, Ren wanted to stop him, but… He really didn’t have much of an excuse to do so.

“We’ll keep in touch” Ren said, more of a question than what he intended

“Of course, I want to see how the photos will turn out” Akechi winked at him, and opened the door, walking by a surprised Futaba. Ren followed suit, in order to help Akechi with his jacket.

“Hello” He said her way, Futaba nodded, too shy to say hi back.

“She’s very shy” Ren explained. Goro hummed, looking at Futaba not for more than two seconds, and then turning towards the front door.

Ren gave him his jacket back, and opened the door for him “How courteous” said Goro amused.

“Always” answered Ren

Akechi walked past him, not really saying bye, Ren looked at him go until he turned the corner, and then closed the door.

  
  


“Didn’t know you were with someone” Futaba was looking at him as if she figured out what happened back in the studio room.

Ren ignored her, mostly because he was still kind of annoyed that he got cockblocked by Futaba out of all people.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” she said opening the bag she had with her. He took a big bite out of the burger she had in her hands

“... No” Ren took one too, biting into it like he was starving for food.

“Did I cockblock you? I’m sorry” she said, not looking very sorry at all. “He’s very pretty by the way”

“Yusuke is with Ryuji” Ren said, not really wanting to talk to her about Akechi

“I texted him, they are coming, you might want to hide those by the time they get here” she pointed at her neck, looking at him super amused.

Ren touched his neck, he completely forgot about the fact that Akechi bit him there a few times.

“So? Not going to tell me how you met him?” she insisted. Ren looked at her, slightly squinting, still chewing.

He considered, on one hand, she was the one that knew him the most, she knew every partner he had ever had since he was in Tokyo, and the one he would turn in case he was conflicted about anything, really.

On the other hand, she just stopped him from having his way with Akechi, unintentionally, sure. But there still was fault.

“No” he answered, smiling and biting into his burger. Futaba groaned.


End file.
